Tomas Bata University Takes A Modern Approach to Research Metrics with PlumX Dashboards

~ Integrates Modern Metrics with its Institutional Repository to Track Research Impact ~

IPSWICH, Mass. — September 8, 2015 — Tomas Bata University (TBU) is increasing the visibility of its researchers and providing alternative avenues through which to showcase the University’s research output with PlumX Dashboards (PlumX). A prominent center of research in the Czech Republic, TBU has paired this research metrics tool from Plum™ Analytics, an EBSCO Company, with its institutional repository (IR) to create impact dashboards for their research outputs.

TBU is embedding PlumX in its IR to track metrics of content such as articles, papers and books. The information PlumX provides is used to supplement the statistics of the library catalog or discovery systems in order to tell the entire story of the impact of this content. The university also plans to display metrics for individual authors via PlumX, as individual author pages are built on the university’s website.

TBU Library Director Ondrej Fabian says that having PlumX in the IR allows them to track the institutional output where it exists. “We are currently displaying PlumX in our institutional repository on the record page for journal articles, conference papers and books. It makes the most sense to display this in the institutional repository because this is where the institutional output which PlumX tracks is present.”

The integration of PlumX and the IR gives researchers at TBU access to the PlumX metrics, dashboards and analytic reports. These real-time analytics offer researchers timely feedback on the impact of their research and measure research impact in ways that traditional methods cannot. With PlumX, the University can not only showcase research quicker, it can afford greater recognition and opportunity to the university and its researchers

According to Fabian, these benefits are especially beneficial for newer researchers, who may not see immediate feedback in the form of citations “The promise of alternative metrics is that it gives our beginning researchers a chance to show their work, for example, when applying for grants, projects or employment. Scientific publishing can be very unforgiving especially to young researchers who haven't yet had the benefit of time to gather citations.”

About Tomas Bata University
Tomas Bata University in Zlín (TBU) is a dynamically growing higher education institution comprised of six faculties focusing on the following fields of study: Technology, informatics, economics, marketing, visual arts, philology, pedagogy, health care and crisis management. The university is named after the originator of the shoe industry in Zlín and a world-famous entrepreneur Tomáš Baťa (1876 – 1932). It is one of the most prominent centres of research in the Czech Republic and, in many respects, also abroad. With about 10,300 students, TBU ranks among medium-sized Czech universities. TBU is bilingual: its official languages are Czech and English. The mobility of international students is a major trend and highly supported at TBU. The university has been awarded the Diploma Supplement Label and the ECTS Label by the European Commission, with the ECTS Label being the most prestigious European certificate awarded in the sphere of tertiary education. TBU is a member of the European University Association (EUA).

About Plum™ Analytics
Plum Analytics was founded in 2012 to bring modern ways of measuring research impact to individuals and organizations that use, fund, support, perform, publish or analyze research. Plum Analytics provides contemporary information about research impact and gather metrics (often called altmetrics) about research from more than 30 sources (including PLOS, PubMed and YouTube) and categorizes them into Usage, Captures, Mentions, Social Media and Citations. The PlumX Suite is comprised of five products that ensure that information on research output is available to those that fund, perform, support or publish research based on the unique needs of each group. For more information, visit www.plumanalytics.com.

About EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the leading discovery service provider for libraries worldwide with more than 8,000 discovery customers in over 100 countries. EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) provides each institution with a comprehensive, single search box for its entire collection, offering unparalleled relevance ranking quality and extensive customization. EBSCO is also the preeminent provider of online research content for libraries, including hundreds of research databases, historical archives, point-of-care medical reference, and corporate learning tools serving millions of end users at tens of thousands of institutions. EBSCO is the leading provider of electronic journals & books for libraries, with subscription management for more than 360,000 serials, including more than 57,000 e-journals, as well as online access to more than 700,000 e-books. For more information, visit the EBSCO website at: www.ebsco.com. EBSCO Information Services is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a family owned company since 1944.